NATO’s new mission is its old one

April 02, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

NATO is pivoting back to Europe.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry says it is “completely premature” to write off the Israeli-Palestinian peace process even as negotiations were dealt a blow by a speech in which the Palestinian leader said he would press for UN recognition over Israel’s strong objections. A senior US official said Kerry had called off plans to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank today. But Kerry told reporters at NATO headquarters on Tuesday that he and his team remained in contact with both sides.

Investigators are conducting a forensic examination of the final recorded conversation between ground control and the cockpit of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 before it went missing three weeks ago, the Malaysian government said Tuesday. Meanwhile Australia, which is coordinating the search for the Boeing 777, cautioned that it “could drag on for a long time” and would be an arduous one.The forensic examination could shed light on who was in control of the cockpit and will also seek to determine if there was any stress or tension in the voice of whoever was communicating with ground control – crucial factors in an air-disaster investigation.

In a key milestone for the four-year-old health-care law, the Obama administration says more than 7 million people signed up for health care through insurance exchanges, surpassing a threshold once seen as unattainable. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that the figure was reached by Monday’s midnight deadline for sign-ups.

Russia on Tuesday sharply hiked the price for natural gas to Ukraine and threatened to reclaim billions in previous discounts, raising the heat on its cash-strapped government, while Ukrainian police moved to disarm members of a radical nationalist group after a shooting spree in the capital. The discount was part of a financial lifeline that Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, after his decision to ditch a pact with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow.

New signs of life in the US manufacturing sector helped push the stock market to a record high Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 13.18 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 1885.52. That’s above its previous record of 1878.04, set on March 7. The gains were broad, with eight out of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 rising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.95 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16532.61. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 69.05 points, or 1.6 percent, to 4268.04.

The fix for a faulty ignition switch linked to 13 traffic deaths would have cost just 57 cents, members of Congress said Tuesday as they demanded answers from General Motors’ new chief executive officer on why the automaker took 10 years to recall cars with the defect. At a hearing on Capitol Hill before a House subcommittee, GM’s Mary Barra acknowledged under often testy questioning that the company took too long to act. She promised changes at GM that would prevent such a lapse from happening again.

The unemployment rate across the 18-country eurozone was steady near record highs in February, official data showed Tuesday, indicating the economic recovery is not sufficiently strong to create enough new jobs. While the number of jobless dropped slightly, the unemployment rate remained flat at 11.9 percent, where it has been since October, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency. It peaked at 12.1 percent last year.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled an updated Republican budget plan Tuesday that would slash $5.1 trillion in federal spending over the coming decade and promises to balance the books with wide-ranging cuts in programs like food stamps and government-paid health care for the poor and working class. Ryan’s plan would also cut Pell Grants for low-income students and pensions for federal workers. The plan should skate through the Budget Committee today but faces challenges on the floor next week.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory seems to have gotten the pope’s message about modest living. Days after Pope Francis removed a German bishop for his lavish spending on a new residence, the Atlanta archbishop apologized for building a $2.2 million mansion and said he’d consider selling the new home in Buckhead, Atlanta’s toniest neighborhood.

Caterpillar Inc. has avoided paying $2.4 billion in US taxes since 2000 by shifting profits to a wholly controlled affiliate in Switzerland, according to a report released by Sen. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan. Levin chairs the Senate investigations subcommittee. On Tuesday, Levin grilled Caterpillar executives and their accountants at a hearing.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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